Bulldogs and Crusaders try again

MEN'S SOCCER VISTS HOLY CROSS WEDNESDAY (7:30 PM) FOR MAKE-UP GAME

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bulldogs will head to Holy Cross for their final nonconference showdown of the season, Wednesday evening (7:30 p.m.) against the Crusaders.

Postponed due to lightning from earlier this year, Bryant (5-7-1, 3-5 NEC) will finally have an opportunity to face off with Patriot League-foe Holy Cross (3-8-2, 1-2-2 Patriot League), over a month after the originally scheduled date.

The Bulldogs are coming off a dramatic 4-3 victory over St. Francis (NY) on Sunday, while the Crusaders fell to Lehigh on the road on Saturday.

On Sunday, the Terriers struck first in the 10th minute, when Riccardo Milano and Gabriel Bagot connected on a give-and-go for Bagot's fourth marker of the season, granting the home team an early 1-0 lead.

The Black and Gold answered with three-straight scores of their own, with the first coming in the 19th minute from senior Ryan Stone (Wakefield, R.I.). Off a free kick, senior Eddie Curry (Massapequa, N.Y.) delivered a ball into the box where Stone deflected it past St. Francis (NY) keeper Tyler Clarhaut.

Sophomore Connor Norat (Wilmington, Del.) tallied the second goal for Bryant in the 38th minute off a corner kick taken by Curry. Curry lifted the ball into the box, past the keeper, allowing Norat to put home his first marker of the day.

In the 56th minute, Norat found the back of the net yet again, blasting a strike from just inside the box to increase the Bulldog-lead to 3-1.

The Terriers would answer, however, with a pair of their own goals. The first score came in the 66th minute from Adam Maddbdi to cut Bryant's lead to just one, and the equalizer occurred in the 83rd minute from Kevin Correa.

Less than three minute later, the Bulldogs would score the seventh and final goal of the match when freshman defender Teddy Spanos (Garden City, N.Y.) cleaned up a rebound to register his first collegiate tally and his first game-winning goal in a Bulldog uniform.

The Crusaders enter Wednesday's action looking for their fourth win of the season. Junior forward Josh Cintras leads the team offensively with 11 points on five goals and one assist, while freshman Kevin Wright and sophomore Michael Thompson combine for the netminding duties.

On Sept. 8, officials called the originally scheduled match between the two teams just after the start of the second half due to lightning. At the time the Crusaders were leading, 1-0, however a fresh 90 minutes of place will be played Wednesday night, starting at 7:30 p.m.

For links to live stats and all the latest on Bryant University men's soccer, visit BryantBulldogs.com.